When alcohol becomes as precious as gold (a continuation to My mundane life is over)

    It was 6:00 in the evening when we arrived at our favorite grocery store. We saw the long line going to the entrance door and my dad dropped us near the end of the line, telling us to just call him when we are done with our shopping. The guard told him that the parking lot is already full so he had to go around to find a space where he could park our car.

    The line was long but it was moving. In less than 5 minutes, we were able to get inside. I reminded my mom to go straight  where the Ethyl alcohols, hand sanitizers and other anti bacterial stuffs are placed. My mom dislikes Isopropyl saying it dries the skin so we always buy Ethyl alcohol. But...we did not find any except for few bottles of mild and scented hand sanitizers for kids. 

     My mom told me to go find a staff and ask if they have any alcohol left in their stock room. She was guessing that in a few minutes,  a staff would refill the shelves. I think that was also the moment of truth  -  we came to realize that whatever was happening and being talked about was not a joke. 

    Seeing empty shelves in a grocery store is not normal. Few items were left - Biscuits, chips, noodles, canned goods and even toilet papers were all gone.  People tripled the amount of items they usually buy as soon as they heard from the news that there is going to be a lockdown the next day - that means we all must stay at home.

   Halfway to the customer service, I overheard some people talking in panic voices...."all alcohol brands are sold out". I walked faster and asked the first person in the customer service counter when are they going to have stocks of alcohol. She said, she don't know....probably tomorrow or the next day.  I began to panic. I did a quick inventory - we have a 150ml bottle at home, a small hand sanitizer on my bag and my mom has one or two small bottles kept in her travel bag. That's all we have and it is not enough.

    Instead of going back to meet my mom, I went to the drugstore just beside the grocery store. But, I didn't have to go inside - on its door was a white paper with "No alcohol available." written on it. Just as I was about to go back to the grocery store and  meet my mom, I heard my phone ringing - it was her.  She told me to meet her in front at the exit door. She wants to go to a supermarket we also frequently visit. She said maybe they have still have stocks of alcohol. But, we should hurry before they close. My dad was already waiting at the exit door and immediately drove away as soon as we got inside the car.

    I have never imagined in my entire life, that this day would come....when alcohol would become too hard to find...too necessary and that it would become as precious as gold.